Page 104 of Mission: Possible

I directed Maddox into one of the parking spaces under the building and he followed me up the stairs. Solomon and Delgado waited in the boardroom, arms crossed, faces unreadable. I grabbed the files I needed from my desk. "Where is everyone?" I asked.

"We’re everyone. Lucas is working the Bagshot angle. Fletcher and Flaherty are still in Boston, running down leads on our dead thief. And I just dispatched two bodyguards to the hospital for the Takahashis. What's the urgency?" asked Solomon.

"We should wait for my brothers." I opened up my email and forwarded a few items to the office printer while I waited. As I grabbed them and returned, I couldn't deny a small sense of satisfaction, knowing that I put everything together, although I wasn't going to admit to the things I missed in the process. None of it made sense until nearly an hour ago and now everything did.

"Here they are," said Delgado, nodding to the doors as they opened and both of my brothers stepped in.

"You're lucky I happened to be in the neighborhood," said Garrett. "And by that, I meant, still at the hospital."

"How's Austen now?" I asked.

"Apart from slight shock, he seemed okay when I left him. He's refusing to leave Sophie's side despite me posting two uniforms on the door. I got the security footage. One of my guys is running through it now."

"I just told Lexi that I sent two bodyguards at Austen's request," said Solomon.

"Glad he made the call," said Garrett.

"Did you find Zach yet?" I asked.

"No sightings. Give it time. Everyone in Montgomery PD is on alert for him and his truck."

"I assumed this meeting had something to do with the bank robbery," said Jord. "Did you find the stolen item? Because I gotta say, I'm still no closer to knowing what it is and it sounds like you're all focused elsewhere. The information from the kid you sent my way might be useful but I’m not holding out any hope."

"No, we haven't yet, but Lexi came up with an idea ofwhatit is," said Delgado. He walked the few short steps to the whiteboard where the particulars of the case were quickly rearranged to add the new information. He pointed to the newspaper clipping I found about Charlie, and then another one.

"What's that?" I asked.

"A coin that was stolen five years ago. According to our informers, Bagshot did the job and the coin was never recovered. Several others were stolen in the same heist that later turned up in the collection of a Mexican kingpin after he was assassinated, so we think Bagshot might have kept that one for a future payday."

"Bagshot worked for some unsavory people," I remarked, wincing.

"It's remarkable he lived to see old age," added Solomon.

"A coin?" asked Jord. He stepped over, reading the articles. He glanced back at us, surprise written across his face. "Old coins are worththatmuch?"

"Yep, and someone worked out who stole it, where it was being kept, and managed to put together a crew to steal it again. All they needed was a seasoned bank robber to pull off the heist," I explained as I pulled a photo from my file, adding it to the whiteboard. "Meet Zach Gallo. Ex-Army, stone-cold bastard, and my hot tip as bank robber." I added the next item to the board, pointing to it as I said, "Zach and his sister, Sophie, used to live in Milwaukee along with his wife, who was also named Sophie, which must have been weird when they were in bed but let's forget I said that."

"Let's," agreed Delgado. Solomon sighed and Maddox chuckled. My brothers simply waited. Tough crowd.

"Anyway, the wife, Sophie, died in a horrible car accident back in Milwaukee. Strangely enough, this happened around the same timeframe as a not-yet-solved bank robbery there, and Zach and his sister skipped town within days of both incidents. Sophie has been in a coma ever since she was attacked. That seemed coincidental but thanks to Maddox tracing the cash Sophie hid from the Milwaukee bank robbery, now I'm not so sure. I think if we try, we can find a connection between Zach and Thomas Mackleton too. They knew each other. I'm sure of it."

"This is all purely circumstantial," said Jord. "But I'll put a call into Milwaukee PD and get the case particulars. See if any of it matches up with our robbery."

"There's more," I told them.

"This is the same Zach Gallo that I'm searching for in connection with the assault on Sophie Takahashi at the hospital today?" asked Garrett.

"The very same," I confirmed.

"Could Sophie have been the female robber?" asked Delgado.

"No, she was definitely in a coma by the time First Eastern Bank was hit. That doesn't mean she wasn't involved in the Milwaukee robbery however. You should check into that too, Jord, but I think she probably wasn't connected to either one. She may well have known nothing about it. Or suspected something but wasn't sure."

"What about..." started Maddox.

"I'm getting to the cash!" I paused, waiting for everyone's attention. "Austen hired me because he believed his wife was purposely attacked and did not suffer a fall." I added her photo to the board and drew an arrow from Zach to her.

"What's that got to do with the robbery?" asked Jord.

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